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Have you been at the current Penn Station, in NYC? That's how a 'build for now' station looks like. It is a total shitshow during rush hour, and especially d

Have you been at the current Penn Station, in NYC? That's how a 'build for now' station looks like. It is a total shitshow during rush hour, and especially during holidays. Everyone in NYC hates it and we are currently building an extension at the old post office, as it is not fit for usage anymore. The old one (the one that got demolished in the 60s) was miles ahead in both space and aesthetics. Also, almost nobody hates the Grand Central Station, even though it gets overran with tourists as it is a beautiful peace of work.

deleted 6y ago
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Gibbon1 6y ago
Best comment about the new now old Penn Station. 'One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat'
jcranmer 6y ago
That's not why Penn Station is a shitshow. Penn Station basically has three main problems: 1. Amtrak insists on trying to do an airplane-like boarding situation for trains, rather than the traditional practice of telling people what track their train will be on several minutes in advance and letting them wait on the platform. This means you have boarding lines and expectant crowds in places that aren't designed to handle that kind of capacity. 2. Each of the services that call at Penn Station has its own segregated platforms, mezzanine, and ticketing areas, and the connectivity between these is poor and confusing. Although, this is probably driven in large part by... 3. Madison Square Garden was built on top of Penn Station, and a substantial portion of the above-ground infrastructure is dedicated to supporting that tenant rather than the transportation infrastructure. Penn Station used to have a more normal major-station layout when it was still part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, but that was ruined by the building of Madison Square Garden on top of it.
- bobthepanda 6y ago
  Everything below ground level is original, save for the relatively newer Central and Western corridors. Penn Station's major issue was that when it was designed and built, intercity traffic was a big deal and commuter traffic was not, and it was designed accordingly. Today the central platforms Amtrak uses are massively oversized and the commuter-rail only platforms to the side take 3-5 full minutes to clear a train.
- wffurr 6y ago
  The platforms by the tracks in Penn Station are narrow, dank, and poorly lit. I think that's why you see the boarding method there. Better platforms would make a huge difference.

deleted 6y ago

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Gibbon1 6y ago

Best comment about the new now old Penn Station. 'One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat'

jcranmer 6y ago

That's not why Penn Station is a shitshow. Penn Station basically has three main problems: 1. Amtrak insists on trying to do an airplane-like boarding situation for trains, rather than the traditional practice of telling people what track their train will be on several minutes in advance and letting them wait on the platform. This means you have boarding lines and expectant crowds in places that aren't designed to handle that kind of capacity. 2. Each of the services that call at Penn Station has its own segregated platforms, mezzanine, and ticketing areas, and the connectivity between these is poor and confusing. Although, this is probably driven in large part by... 3. Madison Square Garden was built on top of Penn Station, and a substantial portion of the above-ground infrastructure is dedicated to supporting that tenant rather than the transportation infrastructure. Penn Station used to have a more normal major-station layout when it was still part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, but that was ruined by the building of Madison Square Garden on top of it.

bobthepanda 6y ago
Everything below ground level is original, save for the relatively newer Central and Western corridors. Penn Station's major issue was that when it was designed and built, intercity traffic was a big deal and commuter traffic was not, and it was designed accordingly. Today the central platforms Amtrak uses are massively oversized and the commuter-rail only platforms to the side take 3-5 full minutes to clear a train.
wffurr 6y ago
The platforms by the tracks in Penn Station are narrow, dank, and poorly lit. I think that's why you see the boarding method there. Better platforms would make a huge difference.